Title: A map-based decision-support system for delivery planning

Authors: Jacky C.F. Wong, Paul T.W. Fung, Chun-Hung Cheng, Janny M.Y. Leung

Addresses: FedEx Express, Asia Pacific Headquarters, 3301, Two Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong, SAR. ' NEC Hong Kong Limited, 25th Floor, The Metropolis Tower, 10 Metropolis Drive, HungHom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR. ' Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR. ' Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR

Abstract: This paper describes a project to develop a map-based decision-support system for delivery planning in Hong Kong. The system consists of several components, including a map-based interface, bilingual database storing the information of maps and deliveries and some decision support tools for planning the routes of the delivery vehicles in a feasible and cost-effective way. In this paper, we describe (1) the features of the system, (2) the underlying network representation used and (3) two decision-support models, a Time-varying Constrained Shortest Path (TCSP) problem and a Time-dependent Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (TVRPTW) and their corresponding algorithms which have been incorporated into the system. We hope this paper will provide some insights on the techniques and challenges of developing such delivery planning systems.

Keywords: delivery planning; decision support systems; DSS; vehicle routing; maps; Hong Kong; network representation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOI.2007.012694

International Journal of Services Operations and Informatics, 2007 Vol.2 No.1, pp.1 - 17

Published online: 08 Mar 2007 *

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